Information and Communications Technologies

The Government's Promise

A dedicated network will link the 10 venues and the rest of the world to the images from the 2010 FIFA World CupTM. The satellite teleport and telecommunications infrastructure will be able to support transmission capacity of 40 gigabytes per second.

The Government will provide ICT infrastructure that conforms to FIFA requirements, including for wire and wireless national and international telephone, data, audio and video exchanges. At the same time, the event will be part of the development of ICTs in South Africa.

It is a FIFA requirement that broadcasting is digital. This has accelerated a R1-billion switch-over from analogue signal to digital terrestrial television by Sentech (a state-owned telecommunications company). By 2010, close to 80% of South Africans watching the World Cup will have access to digital television.

Digital television means that it is possible to use a television as an Internet access point. This will give many South African who do not have computers access to the Internet. Digital television operating costs are much lower and digital TV channels use less radio frequency spectrum. This means that once migration to digital terrestrial television is complete, South Africa’s airwaves will be able to support up to eight times as many standard-definition television channels as currently. This will mean South Africa can have more channels delivering local content. Digital television also makes it possible for viewers to choose their broadcast language.

The 2010 World Cup will be the first broadcast in high-definition television. Sentech will launch at least one high-definition television satellite channel in time for the World Cup. The South African Broadcasting Company (SABC) plans to have six more high-definition units in place by the end of 2009.

Sentech will implement the satellite back-up infrastructure for the World Cup. This includes building a second satellite teleport to provide the additional capacity needed. The second teleport is on schedule to be completed by November 2009.

FIFA required that South Africa’s telecommunication infrastructure be upgraded to make broadband accessible to all its venues. Telkom, one of the largest communications services-provider on the African continent, will provide the fixed-line network infrastructure and will complete its upgrade in 2008. Telkom is investing R3,2 billion between 2006 and 2010 in the Next Generation Network (NGN). This one network will transport all information (voice, video, data) and help increase bandwith.

“Last mile” fibre connection to support high-definition television signals from each of the stadiums to the wide area network and then to the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) will be installed. The ‘last mile’ will be completed in October 2008 for the Confederations Cup stadiums, and April 2009 for the
World Cup Stadiums.

This excess capacity on both the core and access network will be used to provide broadband services after 2010. This means that for many South Africans, access to broadband Internet will become a reality sooner than expected.

Each stadium will install dedicated local area telecommunications infrastructure to support the wider telecommunications and broadcast project. Match – the company appointed by FIFA to provide ticketing, accommodation and event information technology (IT) services - will provide the IT infrastructure inside the stadiums and IBC.

International Broadcast Centre
Government is helping set up the IBC, as well as media centres in each stadium. The IBC will be the media nerve centre for the World Cup. All the broadcast transmissions from the World Cup stadiums and distribution will be facilitated via the IBC, linking the venues in South Africa to the rest of the
football family all over the globe. The cumulative television audience for the 2010 event in South Africa is estimated to reach 26,9 billion.

The IBC will be located at the National Exhibition and Recreational Centre (Nasrec), south of Johannesburg’s city centre. Construction was launched on 21 April 2008. Nasrec will see an estimated 3 000 broadcast journalists from around the world based there for six weeks during the World Cup.

The IBC includes:
• The Satellite Farm, covering an area of approximately 5 000 m², where different broadcast partners will install satellite dishes to transmit theirmatches to their respective countries.
• The Master Control Room (MCR), which receives incoming signals from the 10 stadiums and other ”non-venue” sites, and general telecom interfaces (fibre optic or satellite downlink). The MCR is used to monitor and distribute signals to broadcasting partners in the IBC.
• Radio stations booths/units and broadcasters’ studios.
• A media briefing room, accommodating up to 200 persons, lounge and rest areas, a convenience store, newspapers, waste removal, freight forwarding, mailing and courier services, banking, cleaning, catering, and medical and emergency services.

More than R120 million is being used to upgrade the Nasrec precinct to support the hosting of the IBC. This is part of larger investment in the area to bridge the apartheid spatial planning gap between the south of Johannesburg and the city centre. Through the IBC, Nasrec will become a hi-tech development hub, generating many opportunities for surrounding communities.

The IBC will create an estimated 3 370 jobs and contribute R341 million to Johannesburg’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The signal from the IBC will be transmitted to the international community using a number of international submarine cables like SAT-3, South African Far East Cable (SAFE) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development Broadband Cable.